We use cookies to improve site performance and enhance your user experience. If you'd like to disable
cookies on this device, please see our
cookie management page. If you close this message or continue to use this site, you consent
to our use of cookies on this devise in accordance with our
cookie policy, unless you disable
them.

More recently, invited by the regulator, the Financial Skills Partnership has again collaborated with practitioners to develop practical and fit-for-purpose qualification standards which underpin the level 4 RDR appropriate qualifications.

We have been a voice speaking on behalf of the profession with regard to professionalism, making its concerns known to the regulator and also submitting written evidence to the Treasury Select Committee.

As a busy small or medium-sized practice, how do you go about attracting the best young talent to recruit?

FSP’s online careers site, directions, provides an invaluable resource, acting as a magnet to attract young people and show them the opportunities available in the sector and specifically highlighting roles available in financial advice and planning.

Directions speaks the language of young people and interacts with them at the times in their careers when they are most receptive, alerting them to internships, apprenticeships, school leaver and graduate programmes.

Graduate opportunities

In addition, starting this September, your firm has a brand new and unique way of gaining a new entrant who will be able to add value immediately to your organisation.

An ambitious new industry-led initiative which includes major product providers, the Graduate Foundation College (GFC), is recruiting bright, unemployed graduates and offering them a concentrated and structured 10 week pre-employment training programme, designed to get them work-ready and let them hit the ground running.

Using e-learning, face-to-face workshops and exam preparation, the college will train these graduates up to an entry level standard for the world of financial advice.

In particular, candidates who complete the programme will be familiar with the regulatory framework, having attained the regulation and ethics module, and will also have received training in supporting skills and industry knowledge.

Successful graduates will then be offered industry experience in the form of a 6-month paid internship with an advisory firm. Come September, one of these firms could be yours.

This new scheme offers a unique new opportunity for your firm to gain a bright and keen young person who has been pre-screened and pre-trained and can contribute immediately to your business.

This opportunity involves a cost, as you will need to pay your intern, but saves you the entire substantial cost of the initial training. More importantly, it affords you a risk-free opportunity to assess the graduate’s employability longer-term.